By Jen Joyce
*Darrell*
Darrell had arrived at the back entrance of Gar's Bodega just in time to catch K.O. putting a bag of trash in the dumpster, his back turned towards him. "Psst!" K.O. whipped his head around, seeing Darrell coming out of the trees of the forest behind the Plaza.
"Darrell?" K.O. tilted his head, confused. "What are you doing here?"
"I can explain," Darrell began, sitting on the edge of the small cliff that separated the forest from the Plaza. "But if you don't wanna get caught, you better follow me." Darrell then slid down the cliff and to the ground, the heroic child following right after.
"What's going on?" K.O. asked once he was facing the red robot, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Well..." Darrell started, motioning for K.O. to come closer. Once he was closer, Darrell whispered to K.O. the short version of the events that have happened and that they need his and his mother's help for the wedding.
"What does "preg-ant" mean?" K.O. asked, now even more confused than before.
Darrell tried not to slap himself in the face at that. 'Why didn't I see that coming?...' Out loud, he responded with, "It means that Fern's gonna have a kid, Raymond's kid."
After a few seconds, K.O.'s eyes widened. "Oh..." K.O. then gasped, holding the sides of his face as his eyes became twice the size they were before.
"Yeah," Darrell said, rolling his eye while trying to hold back an amused smile at K.O.'s reaction. "That's the exact look on my face when Ray told us."
K.O. shook his head, clearing himself of the shock. "What can I do to help, Darrell?!" Darrell slapped a red, clawed hand over the small cinnamon roll's mouth, extending his neck to look over the walls of dirt that surrounded them on their sides.
Once he saw that no one was around, Darrell retracted his neck and faced his frienemy again. "For one, you can not yell about it!" Darrell said between his sharp fangs. K.O. flinched at the sudden darkness of Darrell's words, but he managed to keep himself together. "Also, we're gonna need your mom to help out. She's got, like, the most experience of weddings after all, right?"
"Indeed I do." K.O. and Darrell jumped at the sudden voice, whipping their heads up, it was just Carol. "Though, you could've just come to the dojo instead of coming to my child."
"Ms. K.O.'s mom?!" Darrell exclaimed, forgetting about the whole "secret" thing he just told K.O. not even a minute ago. "H-How long have you been there?!"
Carol shrugged. "Eh, just long enough to hear about Fern's pregnancy and that ya'll are plannin' a wedding for those two lovebirds." Carol then got down to where her son and enemy were in the tunnel-shaped ditch. "But, don't worry, I'm the only out here. The girls are havin' a spa day, so I decided to go jogging for about twenty or so times around the Plaza."
Darrell breathed out a sigh of relief that he didn't know he was holding. 'Oh, thank Cob.'
"So," Carol said, determined. "What's the plan, Bag o' Bolts?"
*Ernesto & Raymond*
Raymond and Ernesto were in the ring store a good few miles from both the Plaza and Boxmore near the Battleburg 3K area. Ernesto had done some research about wedding ring stopping while he was checking the Boxmore security cameras and came across a store called "Jarad" that sells all kinds of jewelry; he did a little research and found a lot of great reviews on rings at that store before spotting Raymond in the gym, bouncing a basketball.
And that brings us to now, Raymond and Ernesto standing outside of the store and next to the car; they had driven to the store. "Well," Ernesto said, looking over to his youngest brother. "What do you think?"
Raymond looked over the store, uncertain. His brother had explained what they were doing while they were in the car, including the fact that they were planning a wedding for him and his Rose; a part of him was ecstatic about the concept of being married to his beloved, another was surprised that it was happening both because none of them wanted him to get in trouble with their dad and the fact that he was about to start his own family, and another part of him just felt conflicted about it all.
"...It looks like a jewelry store." Raymond simply said, hearing his eldest sibling chuckling.
"Alright, wise bot," Ernesto rolled his eye at Raymond, gently pushing the bot forward. "Let's go inside and see what type of rings there are inside." Ernesto opened the door, seeing a lot of jewelry set up not only in displays but also in special boxes and in photoshopped posters.
"O-kay," Raymond said, surveying the area. "I'll admit, they have a good eye for decor." Ernesto nodded, too engrossed in how the store looked to respond verbally.
"Ah, thank you kindly good sir." Raymond and Ernesto looked over to where the voice was and saw one of the employees here.
He looked to be a male in his mid-thirties with slicked-back hazel hair that didn't pass his shoulders in length, big, black eyes with faint eyebags underneath, a small, pointed nose, and a smile that only rich and smug people can pull off. He was wearing a velvet red tux jacket with an ivory ascot tucked in just enough to show he was of the upper class, velvet black dress pants, and black dress shoes that were slip-ons. He also looked to be half mouse, judging from the cream-colored fur that covered his skin, the big, circular mouse ears on his head, and short stature that caused him to only come up to the end of Raymond's elbows. He didn't seem to have a tail though.
"I can certainly tell that you must have good taste in jewelry if you came here of all places." The mouse-man hybrid extended a hand out to Raymond. "My name is Walter Martin."
Raymond hesitantly took Walter's hand, trying his hardest to not strain the fake smile on his face. "I'm Raymond, and this is my brother Ernesto." Raymond let go of Walter's hand and pointed to where Ernesto was standing, waving at the hybrid employee.
"How can I help you, Raymond?" Walter asked, folding his hands behind his back. "May I interest you in a diamond-crystal necklace?" Walter pulled out a shiny necklace in a fancy-looking case, the light bouncing off of it almost making the two brothers blind just from looking at it.
"Uh," Raymond carefully peered over from behind the safety of his arm, praying to Cob that his oculus receptors didn't explode. "Actually, we're here to shop for rings."
Walter's smiled dropped, seemingly disappointed. "Oh," Walter said, closing the case and putting it on a nearby display of earrings. "Well, we also have some great rings to offer." Walter clasped his hands together as he put his smile back on his face. "Tell me, what type of rings are you gentlemen interested in?"
This time, it was Ernesto's turn to talk. "We're looking for wedding rings, more in particular, this type of wedding ring." Ernesto showed Walter the type of wedding rings Raymond liked the most during the car ride over here. The employee's eyes lighting up with delight when he saw it.
"Oh, an excellent choice, good sir!" Walter exclaimed, his joy sounding more real. "The engravable wedding bands are our best items for weddings this time of year. If I may ask, which of you are getting married?"
"I am," Raymond raised his hand, a tad embarrassed. "I'm the one getting married."
Walter gasped, almost jumping up to hug the husband-to-be for his accomplishment, but managed to compose himself and give him a more dignified reply. "Your fiancé must be amazing if you're getting married to them."
"She is, indeed~." Raymond smiled, a faint blush crossing his features.
"Your parents must be proud of you for finding the right girl."
Walter's words hit a sore nerve when they reached Raymond's hearing receptors. He knew his Father would never allow him to be married to someone who worked in the Bodega, nevermind even dating her. If he ever found out, he'll be discontinued, melted down for scrap metal, and his blueprints burned to make sure he never comes back; and that was the best-case scenario for him. He doesn't even want to think about what would happen if his father got his hands on Fern.
Ernesto, sensing Raymond's discomfort/depression, put a hand on Raymond's shoulder and distracted Walter from his comment. "We're actually in a bit of a rush today, so do you mind showing us the engravable wedding bands?" Walter nodded, telling the two box-bots to follow him as he asked the usual questions for rings, like what he wants to be engraved on the rings and what ring sized fingers the two have.
"Oh, I have something in mind." Was all Raymond said before answering the ring size question.
*Jethro & Mikayla*
Jethro and Mikayla were currently treading very carefully on the path they found that (hopefully) lead to the place where Fern and Raymond had their first date. It wasn't easy to get there, what with their differing speeds and how they approach situations; Jethro's slow and prefers to plan ahead of time while Mikayla just jumps right into things and go with the flow. Since neither of them had been to this part of the forest before, there was a good chance it could've been any of the five paths behind Rosa-Tracheophyta Manor that lead to the garden. So, right now, they were just arguing about what to do next.
"I am Jethro, I am Jethro! *Translation: The most logical thing to do would be to split up, take the paths farthest from each other and then work our way to the middle path!* " Jethro argued, rolling forward as he felt some anger boil within him.
"Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi, Mika, Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi, Mik-Mi-Mi! Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi! *Translation: In case you aren't aware of this, Jethro, this is exactly the kind of set up every horror movie has for people who enter forests like this and decide to split up, willingly or not! We need to stick together and check out each path one at a time!* " Mikayla countered, pointing a claw at her older brother.
As you can already guess, they haven't actually started searching; they've been arguing about how to begin since they got there, which was about ten minutes ago! At the speed they're going, they aren't really gonna be getting anything done until they decide on what to do; which they can't do because they're arguing about what to do. They were arguing so much, that neither noticed that there were footsteps coming towards them.
Carol and Darrell entered the Manor's clearing, talking about what type of theme to go for in Fern and Raymond's wedding -- which was easily decided to be flowers, what with Fern's name belonging to a plant and Raymond's love for Roses -- when they heard the sounds of Mikayla and Jethro arguing with each other from just a couple yards away. K.O. wasn't with them, since he was keeping his eyes on Fern and will alert Shannon -- who digitally added her number and contact sometime after they were properly introduced to Fern -- if she left the Bodega. From what Darrell could make out, he said they were arguing about what to do about picking a path to find the garden.
Carol sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Even if I can't understand those two, I can't stand it when family fights with each other."
"Well, this is how it is every day at Boxmore," Darrell said, the caring mother turning her head to look at the red robot; the fact that two of Darrell's siblings were arguing forgotten for the moment. "At least two of us fight on a daily basis, it's become such a common thing that we have a rule about our fights; don't get involved unless someone starts throwing stuff at each other. So right now, it's best if we just left them alone until they. It's how it's always been since Dad created us, and with him working all the time, he's not really...around to help us with our arguments."
Carol looked sympathetically at Darrell, feeling bad for the kind of home life he's had to endure for his whole life. "I'm...I'm sorrey you have to live like that." Darrell shrugged, holding his arms.
"It's fine." Darrell sighed, looking away from Carol. "But, sometimes I wonder what it's like to have a "normal" family. One where we have regular family dinners, visits to amusement parks more than just once a year, going to school, that kinda thing." Darrell chanced a glance over at Carol, seeing his frienemy's mother look at him with...sympathy. Darrell shook his head, chuckling to himself. "Why am I telling you this?" Darrell asked himself, though loud enough for Carol to hear. "I-It's stupid, you should just forget about it."
"No." Came Carol's firm reply, Darrell turned his head to her, surprised. "It's not stupid to wish for something like that." Carol averted her eyes away from Darrell's one, the former's eyes becoming slightly glassy. "Trust me, I know..."
"What are-" The image of K.O. came to Darrell's mind; he realized that he not only never saw K.O.'s dad but combine that with Carol's words, it only meant that K.O.'s dad wasn't in their lives. "Oh..."
A beat of silence filled the air between the two before Darrell went up to Carol and, for the first time ever in Boxman history, hugged one of his enemies. Carol looked at the red bot for a moment, surprised, before returning the hug, patting his glass head as gentle as she could. The sweet moment between the two was cut short, however, as the sound of something made of glass broke from around the area of where Mikayla and Jethro were in.
"Uh, I think that now might be the time to intervene."
"Agreed!"
Darrell and Carol separated from each other and ran over as fast as they could towards the chimera bot and existential bot before someone else threw something else at the other.
*Shannon*
You'd think that being the co-leader of a plan -- she and Darrell were sharing leadership due to him having come up with the idea and Shannon's orders to everyone -- she'd have the easiest part of it all. Well, you'd be dead wrong; mostly because Shannon would probably cut you in half if you said that to her face after doing your part in the plan. Shannon was surfing around in the digi-verse, looking for any signs of Fern being active on her phone; she managed to copy her phone number after visiting Raymond's phone before he turned it off for the trip.
"Ugh!" Shannon threw her head back in exasperation, her voice sounding digitalized. "Why is this so hard?! Fern's eighteen! She should be on her phone like, fifteen times a day!" Shannon sighed, her energy somewhat spent on her mini-rant.
"Then again..." Shannon started, less confident than just a second ago. "She said that she never really uses her phone that much, what with her life back in the city being busy and all. Plus, she mentioned that she only really started using it when she met Raymond..."
Shannon began feeling uneasy about her task, the digi-board she was currently on slowing down. Ever since she taught herself how to code, rivaling K.O.'s kappa friend -- "Dandy" or something like that -- abilities to code, she's been in and out of the digi-verse like it was nothing! She's been able to find things like a sale on nail polish and lipstick of ten different shades of red in Battleburg. But trying to find your brother's girlfriend's number activity in the digi-verse is harder than trying to get the water out of your circuits after being stuck in the deep end of the river for two hours!
Blip!
Shannon turned her head to look at the notification she got on her installed holo-screen, opening it up to see what it was all about. Turns out the notification read that it found some activity on Fern's phone; turns out she was looking up, "How to Write a Resignation Letter to Your 5-years-old Dream Job's Boss".
Real subtle search, Fern. Real subtle...
"Well, it's not her texting or calling Ray, but I guess that'll do." Shannon shrugged, then turned her digi-board around and started heading to where Fern's activity was located at full speed.
*Fern*
Fern had just sat down on an unused chair in the far end of the backroom in the Bodega, setting her order of a large salad with extra tomatoes and mint tea combo on a nearby table; it was the only thing that didn't have a risk of slightly damaging the fetus. Fern typed away at the search engine on her phone, hoping to get some advice on how to write her resignation letter. After her talk with Raymond, she realized that she couldn't keep working here; she's heard and read a lot about the flak women get for being pregnant and fired from their jobs because of pregnancy discrimination.
Normally, she wouldn't be worried about that type of stuff, especially with Mr. Gar being as kind and willing to listen to others as him, but there were more factors in the equation; she wasn't pregnant with just anyone's child, she was pregnant with one of Lord Boxman's kids' child, who was a sworn enemy of the Bodega. If the fact she was pregnant didn't get her fired, the answer to who the father is definitely will.
As Fern was about to hit "search" when her phone glitched out and a certain mushroom-headed robot's face appeared on her screen, her entire color palette changed from orange to magenta.
"FERN!"
"AH!"
Fern fell out of her seat as she dropped her phone on the ground, the chair toppling over with her as she landed on her back. Fern got up from her spot on the floor, rubbing the sore spot on the back of her head; she sat on her knees as she carefully grabbed her phone to look at the screen again.
"FERN!" Shannon said, sighing in relief. "I finally found you."
"Shannon?" Fern asked, her surprise quickly replaced by mild anger. "What are you doing?! Can't you see I'm at work? You're gonna get me in trouble!" The last part unintentionally came out through gritted teeth.
Shannon winced slightly at Fern's words but managed to push through it. "Sorrey, but this is important!"
Fern suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, sighing out a frustrated sigh. "This better be important, Shannon. I read that it isn't good to scare a pregnant woman since it might hurt the baby." Fern took another bite of her salad, feeling a smidge better when the tomato hit her taste buds.
"Okay, so the long story short is that we've got a plan for you and Ray." This peaked Fern's interest. Stabbing the salad with the plastic utensil, Fern listened to Shannon. "Can you get off work early?" Shannon asked, earning a nod from the blonde.
"I'll try to. I just need to write something down and then I'll ask to get off early."
Since Fern is terrible at lying, she plans on asking Mr. Gar if she can go home early on the excuse of saying that she doesn't feel too well; it wasn't technically untrue so she wouldn't technically be lying. After her talk with her boss -- if she does get an early leave from work -- she'll tape her resignation letter and a small note to her chair and leave. After whatever happens this night -- which is probably when Shannon's plan will take place -- both will be discovered in the morning.
"I kinda wanna ask what you're writing, but I don't have the energy to care. Once you're outta here, pack your bags 'cause you're in for a BIG surprise at night!" Shannon grinned from nonexistent ear to nonexistent ear before disappearing from the screen, leaving the original page Fern was on back to normal.
Fern tapped on the "search" button, and as the search engine began searching for results that relate to what was typed in, Fern got lost in her thoughts.
'What does Shannon have planned for me?' Fern watched as the screen slowly began loading the results of its search. 'If it isn't like what happened a month ago, then I'll be happy.' Fern smirked to herself, scrolling through some of the results before landing on one that seemed the most reliable. 'But, knowing her, it'll be a big surprise.'
*Darrell, Jethro, Mikayla, & Carol*
After having diffused the earlier argument -- and stopping Jethro from somehow throwing another glass bottle at Mikayla -- Carol made a compromise between the two bots; they would split up and take the farthest paths, working their way to the middle, while they took a partner to make sure they weren't ambushed by anyone or anything; Darrell and Jethro would go on the far left while Carol and Mikayla would take the far right. This compromise made both bots satisfied, as they both muttered a "thank you" in their own language; Carol muttered to Darrell that he should teach her Jethro's and Mikayla's language when all of this was over. All of them had checked the two paths that surrounded the middle before meeting up to explore it together.
Which brings us to now, all four of them were walking down the last path available, talking about whatever came to their minds as they kept their eyes opened for a large hedge with branches that couldn't be seen at first sight. Right now, they were just telling jokes to each other; it was Carol's turn.
"So, then she says, "Be careful. I was always told that if a group of clowns attacks you, go for the juggler."!" Carol said through breathless laughs, causing the rest of the quartet to laugh -- seemingly -- uncontrollably; in reality, they were just laughing to be polite or to make sure Carol wouldn't hurt them -- despite the fact that they're on semi-good terms with her.
"Heh, wow, I, uh, I-I've never heard that one before. Heh-heh..." Darrell looked away from the breathless mother, who didn't notice his awkwardness.
Carol managed to calm herself down, wiping away a tear from her eye. "Ya got that right," Carol playfully slapped Darrell's back; Darrell wasn't expecting it, so he nearly fell on his face. "Ya won't hear jokes like that from anyone but a parent." Carol smiled but quickly dropped it upon noticing the unease from the rest of the group.
"...Is," Carol began, concerned. "Is somethin' wrong?"
"No," Darrell said, too quickly for it to be believable. "We're fine."
Carol, knowing that something was bothering the trio of box-bots, didn't accept the answer and decided to gently press on. "Hey," Carol said, her tone soft and caring. Darrell looked over his shoulder at her, but his siblings didn't even give her a glance; they didn't want to talk about what was bothering them, so they just kept their eyes peeled for the large hedge. "You don't have to bottle it up inside ya, but you also don't have to tell me what's up. I'm here if ya need someone to just talk to." Carol smiled.
Darrell smiled a little at Carol, stopping himself in his tracks. Taking a deep breath, Darrell sat down on the ground, Carol sitting down next to him. "I-It's just that," Darrell began, nervously glancing around. "I-I can't really remember a time where Dad ever made jokes that didn't hurt us or wasn't part of trying to impress the board of villains, or ever wanting to help us out with our hobbies, o-or anything like what you've done with K.O."
Darrell paused, taking in a few shaky breaths. "I-I guess I-I'm just..." Darrell shifted his legs so he was leaning his elbow on one of them instead of hugging both of his legs to his chest, searching for the right word to describe his feelings. "...jealous, of you two." Darrell finally said, feeling both ashamed and better for getting that month-old thing off of his chest.
"Oh, Darrell..." Carol started, trying to hold back on her urge to give the red bot the biggest -- and probably the only -- bear hug he'll get. Hey, with an overly emotional 6-11-year-old running around who dreams of becoming a big-shot solo hero one day, it really makes your maternal instinct go into maximum capacity nearly every day until your child matures enough to grow out of it. Besides, she's trying to approach this gently, not strongly.
Darrell sighed again before looking away. "It's like I said earlier, I sometimes wonder what it's like to have a "normal" family. But, sometimes it feels like...well, if I say anything to Dad, I-I might get incinerated or worse, grounded..." Carol didn't even understand the logic of how getting burned to death could be worse than a simple grounding, but she didn't question it.
A beat of silence then filled the air, their task momentarily forgotten. Both were lost in their own thoughts; Darrell was reminiscing on the memories of his father and the very few familial moments he's had with him over the years while Carol was debating in her head about what to do.
"Well," Carol said, finally breaking the silence between them. "If it makes you feel better, you can always come over to the Fitness Dojo and we can just, y'know, talk or hang out." Darrell turned his head towards Carol, simultaneously surprised and happy at what she said. Darrell was about to say something, but Carol held up a hand; it wasn't in a menacing way, but more like a polite way to say that she isn't finished talking. "Don't come in the first few hours of the workday, but I will spend time with you and your siblings. If they want to join, of course."
Darrell's face broke out into a wide smile before he hugged Carol, the strong mother returning the gesture almost immediately. "Thanks, Mo- M-Ms.-K.O.'s-Mom!" Darrell said, hoping his slip-up didn't get noticed by the woman he was hugging; Carol did notice the slip-up but decided to pretend she didn't.
"Heh, no problem, kiddo."
"I AM JETHRO! I AM JETHRO! I AM JETHRO! *Translation: Carol! Darrell! We've found the objective's hedge!* " Jethro bellowed.
"Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mikayla-Mi, Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mika-Mi-Mi! *Translation: If you don't want to miss the marvelous sight, I'd suggest you get over here and see just how breathtaking it is!* " Mikayla added.
"We're coming!" Both Darrell and Carol got out of the hug from each other and began sprinting towards where Jethro and Mikayla had gone.
*Raymond & Ernesto*
"Thank you for shopping at Jarad! Have a happy wedding!" Walter waved good-bye to Raymond and Ernesto as they headed back to their car, bought wedding rings in a fancily wrapped, cream-colored bag with a matching ribbon. Raymond waved good-bye to the employee as he opened the door and sat in the passenger's seat; Ernesto got into the driver's seat and began driving back to Boxmore.
The drive back was long and surprisingly quiet. Raymond was holding the bag on his lap, peeking inside to stare at the engraved wedding bands' velvet boxes; Raymond's was silver while Fern's was rose gold. Ernesto saw just how happy he was when he picked the rings out, especially after he got them engraved. It was a bit odd how quiet Raymond was about all of this; he hadn't said anything since they left the store and frankly, it was a little worrisome.
It wasn't until they stopped at a red light that Raymond finally spoke.
"Oh, my Cob! I can't believe this is really happening!" Raymond smiled wide, his ruby red eyes sparkling with joy.
Ernesto chucked at his younger brother's enthusiasm, secretly relieved that he was alright. "I'm just as amazed as you are, Ray," Ernesto replied, viewing his brother from the corner of his eye; he was still facing the road and watching the traffic light. "I never thought I'd see my brother getting married. At least, not within the same year you and Fern got together."
Raymond blushed slightly, his grip on the bag growing a bit tighter. "W-Well, I-I never expected my Rose to be..." Raymond coughed into his fist, his blush deepening. "Having my child. I-I never thought we would ever have kids, o-or even if it was possible. What with the whole 'different species' thing in our relationship."
"I'll admit, I was initially shocked when you told us Fern was pregnant with your child," Ernesto admitted. "I still am, actually. But I, along with the rest of our siblings, know that if Lord Boxman caught word of this..." Ernesto shuddered, hunching up his shoulders as his grip on the wheel tightened. "I don't even want to think about it."
Raymond sighed, leaning his head back on the seat's headrest. "I know what you mean brother." Raymond looked at the fancily wrapped bag before hugging it to his chest, knowing just how life-changing it would be once the night was done. "I've spent so much time with her, that, now I can't see myself without her by my side."
DING!
When the light changed from red to green, Ernesto began driving back to Boxmore.
"...Do you still want to write that note?" Ernesto asked, glancing over at the husband-to-be that is his brother.
Raymond nodded, his eyes showing that he was serious. "I may not be able to face Father, but the least I can do is write down what's been going on these past months. And I've made sure he won't be able to track us down." Ernesto nodded, understanding Raymond's motivations.
You see, Raymond had decided on the way to Jarad was that he was going to write Lord Boxman a note -- which everyone will pretend it was for the whole family -- vaguely explaining that he ran away with his new wife and he won't see them ever again. He was gonna leave out the names of who she was and where he was going since he doesn't want him to find him. Even if he was with the smartest girl possible in the whole Neutral Zone.
Case in point, Raymond was going to have some writing to do once he gets back to Boxmore. And tonight would be a life-changing night for all parties involved, not just the couple.
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A/N: Welp, this chapter felt like it took forever to write. I did enjoy writing the dynamics between certain people though (Carol and Darrell).
For those who're confused about why Carol and Darrell were acting a bit weird in this chapter, I'll explain. I have a headcanon that once the box-bots/just one of them get to meet K.O.'s mom for real, they'll see just how great of a parent-child relationship they have and compare it to their own with their father; this will lead to them feeling jealous and maybe sad that their father doesn't spend as much time with them doing regular family activities. So, Carol, being the caring mother she is, will be open to spending time with them, no matter what they do; though she will have some rules about when and where, but it won't matter to them.
So, the wedding's getting ready and preparations are being made even as I type it out. I was going to expand on this chapter about whose role would belong to who, but I realized that it was already going to be long and my mind is already getting exhausted from typing out and editing the same chapter for about a month now. So, I'm just gonna list who's doing what in the marriage.
Ernesto - Marriage officiant
Darrell - Best man (husband)/Assistant wedding planner
Shannon - Flower girl
Jethro - Ring-bearer
Mikayla - Bride's maid
Carol - Wedding planner
K.O. - Best man (wife)
I also added in a few easter eggs just because. Let's see if you can find them all. Please share this story with others, comment on any part/chapter if you like something or want to point it out. So, that's all for now, until next time, make sure your partner(s) the one before you tie the knot.
- Jen Joyce 10-13-19
Words = 5,454